chairman’s message chairman’s message This is the 11th Annual Report of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and the second by the current Commission. As in the past, the Commission submits its Annual Report to Parliament during its first sitting for the year, and it remains our hope and expectation that it will be closely read and, for the first time, debated by legislators so that they and the nation as a whole are better informed of the state of human rights and can contribute toward its advancement in the interests of the people. The challenge for the Commisssion, as always, has been one of ensuring that its many recommendations are acted upon by the authorities concerned and other stakeholders so that Malaysia’s human rights standards are fully compliant with universally accepted principles and norms, as is incumbent upon a responsible Member-State of the United Nations and a sitting member of the UN Human Rights Council. Admittedly, some progress has been made, but the pace has been rather slow and the record rather patchy and inconsistent, requiring more serious and strenuous effort on the part of everyone who wishes to see more tangible achievements in the human rights field. Admittedly, some progress has been made, but the pace has been rather slow and the record rather patchy and inconsistent, requiring more serious and strenuous effort on the part of everyone who wishes to see more tangible achievements in the human rights field. As in previous years, 2011 continued to be a challenging one for human rights promotion. The year witnessed renewed and more robust calls by civil society organisations (CSOs) for greater freedom of peaceful assembly, the most notable being the street march organised by a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) under ‘Bersih 2.0’, to call for electoral reform. The coalition and the rally were declared illegal by the authorities, resulting in a number of unfortunate incidents, which subsequently compelled the Commission to set up a Public Inquiry to determine what had transpired and if there had been violations of human rights in the process. In the wake of this public gathering, the Government tabled the Peaceful Assembly Bill in Parliament, which speedily approved it. While the Act dispenses with the need to obtain a police permit prior to holding a peaceful assembly, it nevertheless imposes stringent conditions for organising such assemblies and was, not surprisingly, poorly received by members of the public who desire a more open and free society and a more robust democracy. The Commission hopes that, before enforcing the Act, the Government will open to further consultations for the purpose of receiving additional 1